Not in the Playbook
- LECTURAS 11,417
- Votos 61
- Partes 29
Once the golden boy of the New Jersey Devils, he now walks a thin line between expectation and exhaustion. After back-to-back seasons marred by injury, he's not just losing games-he's unraveling. Confidence bleeds between shifts. Joy slips through his fingers like melted ice.
He's tasted victory, stood centre ice with a city on his shoulders, felt the roar of an arena chanting his name. But lately, it's the silence that echoes-between games, between goals, after every rehab session.
And then-he sees her.
Alexa Lilliana Ignacio.
Athletic Therapy student. Luke Hughes' best friend.
And possibly the most infuriating girl Jack has ever met.
She's lightning in a bottle. Brutal honesty wrapped in soft laughter. Clumsy, beautiful, guarded. She doesn't chase stars-she builds her own constellations. Jack? He's barely a blip in her orbit... which might be why she's the only person who's felt real in a long time.
She's not here for fame or its casualties. But fate? It doesn't ask for permission.
It starts with a stolen glance on the Jumbotron-her face lighting up the screen, stealing the breath from a thousand throats, including his. Then comes a second encounter. Then a third.
She sees him-not the name, not the number. Him.
And in a world where he's measured by stats and seconds, that means everything.
But she's got her own game to win. Her own future to fight for.
When she starts pulling away-missing hangouts, dodging texts, hiding behind "busy"-Jack notices. He misses the chaos. Misses her.
Because no matter how perfect his life looks from the outside, it's her-sharp-tongued, emotionally guarded, and secretly kind-who makes him feel alive.
It starts the way most storms do: quietly.
With a glance, a smirk, a shared inside joke.
And maybe the best plays of all?
Aren't in the playbook.
Todos los derechos reservados
Únete a la comunidad narrativa más grandeObtén recomendaciones personalizadas de historias, guarda tus favoritas en tu biblioteca, y comenta y vota para hacer crecer tu comunidad.
Quizás también te guste
Qᴜɪᴇᴛʟʏ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱ - ʟᴜᴋᴇ ʜᴜɢʜᴇꜱ
Margo Johnson knows exactly how to control a narrative as the social media manager for the New Jersey Devils. Luke Hughes, the team's quiet defenseman and her longtime college friend, knows exactly how to ignore one. For years, they've kept things strictly platonic-built on late-night phone calls, inside jokes, and off-the-record banter. Then a candid photo of them laughing goes viral, and the internet completely loses its mind shipping them. To capitalize on the hype and distract the press from a few messy team headlines, they agree to a harmless PR stunt: fake dating. But staging hand-holding for the grid and playing boyfriend for the cameras is a lot harder than Margo expected. As old, buried feelings resurface during long road trips and late-night arena edits, the lines completely blur. Now, Margo has to face the one headline she can't spin-the one where she falls for her best friend.Concluida
Blue Line Fever. Quinn Hughes
Quinn Hughes has the world watching him and no one actually seeing him. New captain of the Vancouver Canucks. Golden boy on the surface. But behind the press conferences and perfectly tailored suits is a man unraveling slowly, quietly. The kind of man who smiles like it hurts and doesn't let anyone close enough to see. Until her. She barely remember the night. But he's spent every night since remembering only her. Michigan. A country festival. She walked wearing denim shorts and a don't-fuck-with-me smile, smelling spicy. She didn't give him her name. She barely gave him a second look. But Quinn? He's been building fantasies around her ever since. All-consuming ones. Elizabeth Woods. Pediatric intern. Raised in the shadows of a mother who loved like a loaded gun. She's gentle in a way that feels dangerous, like she's trying to undo years of damage with one soft look and steady hands. She's the kind of woman who tucks blankets around strangers but doesn't flinch when someone screams. She's standing across from him, stunned, breathless, just as fucking shocked. Because this city's too big. Too full. And still, somehow they found each other again. She thought he was a bartender. A finance guy. A pretty face with a sharp jaw and nothing behind the eyes. She had no idea he was him. The name on every screen. The jersey hanging in every bar. And now he's in her orbit again, asking questions with his eyes, tugging at threads she's spent years trying to stitch shut. She carries her past like a diagnosis, incurable. And Quinn sees her. He wants her in a way that has nothing to do with love. This is concussion-level craving. A full-body, penalty-box, scream-into-the-wall obsession. She's the one thing that makes him forget the rules. But the closer he gets, the more the past starts bleeding into the present. She's not just a girl he can't forget. She's the trigger to everything he's spent years burying. "You don't even remember me." "Bullshit. You ruined me."
July Above - J. Hughes
Lennon Miller and Jack Hughes were once inseparable. Being born on the same day, in the same hospital to moms who were best friends would do that to two people. Every memory Lennon had as a child consisted of the brunette boy at her side. He was her soulmate, her other half. That's why it hurt so much when they had a falling out. Jack was a big shot now, being drafted to the Devils made him completely forget about the girl he used to spend every waking moment with. Lennon is blind sided when one day out of the blue she gets a call from the person she was least expecting. After several years of absolutely no contact she never imagined he'd call her up and beg her to save his reputation. He was now the Captain and providing the fan base with the perfect image of himself was absolutely necessary. She hates him and he's trying so desperately to win her back, one fake relationship later and all these feelings are brewing at the surface. How long can she keep such deep rooted feelings under wraps. Soon enough they will all explode and change her life as she knew it. You can only fake it for so long.Concluida
the first one • j. hughes
The Reed and Hughes kids have never known life without each other. They'd all been intertwined since before they were even born. Kennedy may be a bit more intertwined with Jack than the rest of the kids. There's a certain bond with your first crush you can't quite shake when he's everywhere in your life. Even more so when that bond follows Jack around too. Jack and Kennedy have had all the chances in the world. Yet, time and time again there was always something in the way. Boyfriends, girlfriends, mixed signals, or simply not being on the same page at the same time fill their past. Now it feels different. Things seem to be falling into place perfectly. Their past missed chances seem to be reworking themselves, rewriting the first one. OR Where their entire lives, Kennedy and Jack somehow can't seem to get on the same page at the same time but this summer seems to be setting the stage perfectly. *************** childhood friends to lovers mature language vague nhl season w/ a vague general timeline CONTENT WARNINGS: toxic relationships (only at the start really), general misbehavior (drinking, weed), implicit sexual content (no smut, nothing explicit), parent loss, grief
Want That Too - Jack Hughes
They've always been each other's safe place. But what happens when the world outside their bubble starts pulling in different directions? Jentry Simmons thought moving to New Jersey with Jack Hughes would be the easy part. After all, she already knows the chaos of being in love with a Hughes boy. But now, they'll have to learn how to balance it with the lives they're building-apart and together. Because forever doesn't come from just falling in love. It comes from choosing each other, every single day, and realizing that sometimes the hardest part isn't falling in love-it's staying in it.
Sophia
"You need to stop it with the fighting, Wade! On and off the ice. You can get killed out there!" She yells. She was so worried. His plumped red lip and the scar on his cheek were nothing compared to what he can actually get into. She sees his eyes move to her and he's looking straight at her making her heart race. "I won't stop fighting until they learn to keep their eyes on the puck and not you, Sophia." -- Sophia was your typical girl. Let's be honest. She wears scrunchies, She has oversized clothes but also the perfect outfit to go out. She had bright green eyes and strawberry blonde hair. She goes to the University of Tampa, where she was born and raised, and her major is Business. She has her own little circle and goes out every chance she gets but still keeps up with school. She's also a huge fan of hockey. Wade Anderson. Tampa Bay Lightning's heartthrob. One of the best players on the team to say the least. 3 million dollar net worth that just keeps growing. He could have his way with the ladies if he wanted to and he does. Wade loves what he does and he's good at it. Both and off the ice, of course. He's also Sophia's favorite player... Well, until he pranks her with his teammates. TW: cussing, sexual scenes, and mention of racism, sexual assault and other deep topics - A/N: U GUYS please remember this is supposed to be a SUPER EASY read, its my first book and i love it so so so much and im learning from it everyday so please cut me some slack!Concluida
Margo Johnson knows exactly how to control a narrative as the social media manager for the New Jersey Devils. Luke Hughes, the team's quiet defenseman and her longtime college friend, knows exactly how to ignore one. For years, they've kept things strictly platonic-built on late-night phone calls, inside jokes, and off-the-record banter. Then a candid photo of them laughing goes viral, and the internet completely loses its mind shipping them. To capitalize on the hype and distract the press from a few messy team headlines, they agree to a harmless PR stunt: fake dating. But staging hand-holding for the grid and playing boyfriend for the cameras is a lot harder than Margo expected. As old, buried feelings resurface during long road trips and late-night arena edits, the lines completely blur. Now, Margo has to face the one headline she can't spin-the one where she falls for her best friend.
Más detallesPautas de Contenido